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WO2014105582A1 - Coat formation method, coat formation device, and method for producing semiconductor chip - Google Patents

Coat formation method, coat formation device, and method for producing semiconductor chip Download PDF

Info

Publication number
WO2014105582A1
WO2014105582A1 PCT/US2013/076320 US2013076320W WO2014105582A1 WO 2014105582 A1 WO2014105582 A1 WO 2014105582A1 US 2013076320 W US2013076320 W US 2013076320W WO 2014105582 A1 WO2014105582 A1 WO 2014105582A1
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WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
spinning
face
planar region
coat formation
liquid
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/US2013/076320
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Kazuta Saito
Shinya Nakajima
Original Assignee
3M Innovative Properties Company
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by 3M Innovative Properties Company filed Critical 3M Innovative Properties Company
Publication of WO2014105582A1 publication Critical patent/WO2014105582A1/en

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Classifications

    • HELECTRICITY
    • H01ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01LSEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H01L21/00Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
    • H01L21/67Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere
    • H01L21/67005Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere
    • H01L21/67011Apparatus for manufacture or treatment
    • H01L21/6715Apparatus for applying a liquid, a resin, an ink or the like

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a coat formation method for forming a liquid coating on a face of an object and to a coat formation device.
  • the present invention also relates to a method for producing a semiconductor chip that has a coat formation process.
  • Known methods for forming a liquid coating on a desired face of an object include a method that produces a liquid coating by supplying a liquid material onto a target face and spinning an object around the center axis of the face such that the liquid material spreads over essentially the entire face due to the centrifugal force (for example, known as the spin coating method).
  • the spin coating method for example, in a method for producing a semiconductor chip, is implemented in a process that applies a liquid adhesive for bonding a wafer to a film, glass, or other substrate, to a circuit face of a wafer and a process for applying a photoresist to a face when forming circuits on a face of the wafer.
  • the spin coating method may also be implemented in processes for applying a coating fluid in a uniform thickness to faces of various objects, for example, applying a lubricant to a face of a magnetic disk, and the like.
  • Patent Document 1 discloses a spin coating device that can suppress the occurrence of edge bead and a spin coating method. Patent Document 1 discloses matters including, "after a coating solution is dropped on a surface of a substrate to be treated W, a holding table 4, a chuck 5, the substrate to be treated W, and a plate 7 are spun in one piece on a spinner.
  • the air between the holding table 4 and the plate 7 is pushed to the outer side portion inside a cup 1 by the centrifugal force due to spinning and is discharged outside the cup 1 via a discharge port 3," "as the air between the holding table 4 and the plate 7 is discharged, comparable air enters from the gap 9 between the outer periphery of the substrate to be treated W and the inner periphery of an opening 8, as illustrated in FIG. 3B.
  • An aspect of the present invention is a coat formation method that forms a liquid coating on a face of an object having an outer circumferential edge, including the steps of: spinning the object around a center axis of the face, supplying a liquid material onto the face, and causing the liquid material to flow so as to cover at least an annular planar region along the outer circumferential edge of the object; preparing a spinning body having a spinning face; causing the spinning face of the spinning body to contact a portion of a planar region of the object; spinning the object around the center axis while simultaneously spinning the spinning body around the rotational axis of the spinning body and causing a portion of the liquid material to transfer from the planar region to the spinning face; and removing the liquid material that transferred to the spinning face from the spinning face to a location away from the planar region.
  • Another aspect of the present invention is a coat formation device that forms a liquid coating on a face of an object having an outer circumferential edge, including: an object support part that supports the object having liquid material disposed on the face; a spinning body of the object supported by the object support part that spins around a rotational axis by causing a spinning face to contact a portion of an annular planar region along the outer circumferential edge; a drive part that spins the object support part supporting the object around a center axis of the face; and a removal part that removes the liquid material that transferred from the planar region of the object to the spinning face of the spinning body from the spinning face to a location away from the planar region.
  • Yet another aspect of the present invention is a method for producing a semiconductor chip, including the steps of: spinning a wafer having a circuit face and an outer circumferential edge around a center axis of the circuit face, supplying a liquid adhesive to the circuit face, and causing the liquid adhesive to flow so as to cover at least an annular planar region along the outer circumferential edge of the wafer; preparing a spinning body having a spinning face; causing the spinning face of the spinning body to contact a portion of the planar region of the wafer; spinning the wafer around the center axis while simultaneously spinning the spinning body around the rotational axis of the spinning body and causing a portion of the liquid adhesive to transfer from the planar region to the spinning face; removing the liquid adhesive that transferred to the spinning face from the spinning face to a location away from the planar region; bonding the wafer, in which a portion of the liquid adhesive has transferred from the planar region to the spinning face, to a substrate via the liquid adhesive that remains on the circuit face; and grinding a rear face
  • the edge bead is eliminated from the liquid coating by simultaneously spinning the spinning body and the object with the planar region and the spinning face in mutual contact continuously across the time for the object to spin not less than one time.
  • the edge bead can be removed with good reproducibility from the liquid coating formed on the face of the object.
  • the edge bead is eliminated from the liquid coating by simultaneously spinning the spinning body and the object with the planar region and the spinning face in mutual contact continuously across the time for the object to spin not less than one time.
  • the edge bead can be removed with good reproducibility from the liquid coating formed on the face of the object.
  • the edge bead can be eliminated from the liquid coating formed on the circuit face of a wafer by a liquid adhesive before the wafer is bonded to a substrate.
  • the amount of hardened adhesive layer that juts outward along the outer circumferential edge of the wafer is reduced.
  • the subsequent rear face grinding step can be implemented safely because the occurrence of peeling in the adhesive layer originating in this type of jutting out portion is prevented.
  • FIGS. 1A to IF are cross-sectional views schematically illustrating main steps of the coat formation method to an embodiment of the present invention.
  • FIGS. 2A to 2C are perspective views illustrating several working examples of a spinning body used in the coat formation method of the present invention.
  • FIG. 3 is a plan view illustrating an example of an object to which the coat formation method of FIG. 1 can be applied.
  • FIG. 4A is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a liquid material transfer step
  • FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a liquid material removal step in the coat formation method of FIG. 1.
  • FIG. 5 is a drawing schematically illustrating a coat formation device according to an embodiment.
  • FIGS. 6 A and 6B are plan views illustrating another example of an object to which the coat formation method of FIG. 1 can be applied.
  • FIG. 7 is a drawing schematically illustrating a variation of the coat formation method according to the coat formation device of FIG. 5.
  • FIG. 8 is a drawing schematically illustrating another variation of the coat formation method according to the coat formation device of FIG. 5.
  • FIG. 9 is an enlarged cross-sectional view illustrating an example of an object to which the coat formation method of FIG. 8 can be applied.
  • FIG. 10 is a drawing schematically illustrating yet another variation of the coat formation method according to the coat formation device of FIG. 5.
  • FIG. 11 is an enlarged cross-sectional view illustrating an example of an object to which the coat formation method according to the coat formation device of FIG. 10 can be applied.
  • FIGS. 12A to 12G are cross-sectional views schematically illustrating main steps of a method for producing a semiconductor chip in which the coat formation method according to an embodiment can be used.
  • FIGS. 1A to IF are drawings illustrating the main steps of the coat formation method according to an embodiment
  • FIG. 2 is a drawing illustrating an example of a spinning body used in the coat formation method
  • FIG. 3 is a drawing illustrating an example of an object to which the coat formation method can be applied
  • FIGS. 4A and 4B are drawings illustrating a liquid material transfer step and a liquid material removal step in the coat formation method.
  • the coat formation method illustrated in the drawings is used for forming a liquid coating 14 on any face 12 of an object 10, and can be implemented, for example, in a method for producing a semiconductor chip, in a process for applying a liquid adhesive to a circuit face of a wafer to bond the wafer to a film, glass, or other substrate, and in a process for applying a photoresist on the face when forming circuits on the face of the wafer. Further, the coat formation method can also be implemented in processes for applying a coating fluid in a uniform thickness to faces of various objects, for example, applying a lubricant to a face of a magnetic disk, and the like.
  • the object 10 to which the coat formation method illustrated in the drawings can be applied includes, as illustrated in FIG. 1, a substantially flat first face 12, a second face 16 that extends substantially parallel to the face 12 on the side opposite the face 12, and an annular outer circumferential surface 18 that extends by curving in an arc shape outward between the first face 12 and the second face 16, and an annular outer circumferential edge 18a is formed on the outermost part of the outer circumferential surface 18.
  • the object 10 may be a circular member having substantially circular profile and may be, for example, a wafer or substrate made of silicon, gallium arsenide, liquid crystal, sapphire, glass, or the like. If the object 10 is a circular member, a diameter D of the object 10 may be, for example, not less than approximately 50 mm and not greater than approximately 500 mm.
  • the face 12 of the object 10 is first disposed face up and substantially horizontal, and the object 10 is placed in the appropriate object support part 20 (FIG. 1A).
  • the liquid material 22 is supplied to a region that includes a center axis 12a of the face 12 of the object 10 (FIG. IB), and the object 10 is spun around the center axis 12a of the face 12 such that the liquid material 22 spreads over essentially the entire face 12 by the centrifugal force (FIG. 1C). While the liquid material 22 is spreading over the face 12 of the object 10, the excess liquid material 22' is released outward from the outer circumferential edge 18a of the object 10 by the centrifugal force.
  • the above process is performed according to the known spin coating method.
  • the liquid coating 14 When stopping the spinning of the object 10 with a required amount of liquid material 22 remaining on the face 12, the liquid coating 14 is formed having a substantially uniform thickness on the face 12 (FIG. ID).
  • the annular planar region 24 (FIG. 3) along the outer circumferential edge 18a of the object 10 the localized annular buildup (edge bead) 26 is formed on the liquid coating 14 caused by surface tension and the like.
  • the coat formation method according to the illustrated embodiment can eliminate the edge bead 26 from the liquid coating 14 using a method that has excellent reproducibility.
  • the dimensions of the edge bead 26 differ depending on the viscosity and the like of the liquid material 22, but the width W is, for example, not less than approximately 0.1 mm and not greater than approximately 20 mm, not less than approximately 0.3 mm and not greater than approximately 10 mm, or not less than approximately 0.5 mm and not greater than approximately 5 mm, and the height H is, for example, not less than approximately 50% and not greater than approximately 100% of the thickness of the liquid coating 14 (FIG. ID).
  • edge bead 26 is not limited to the liquid material 22 spreading over the entirety of the face 12 as in the illustration due to the spinning of the object 10, but this is expected to occur when the liquid material 22 flows so as to cover at least the annular planar region 24 of the face 12 along the outer circumferential edge 18a. Therefore, causing the liquid material 22 to flow so as to cover at least the annular planar region 24 by centrifugal force due to the spinning of the object 10 is required in the step of FIG. 1C for this coat formation method.
  • the planar region 24 differs depending on the dimensions of the face 12 of the object 10, but it may be, for example, a region of approximately 20 mm inward from the outer circumferential edge 18a, a region of approximately 10 mm inward from the outer circumferential edge 18a, or a region of approximately 5 mm inward from the outer circumferential edge 18a.
  • the planar region 24 may be a region that widens to the inner side, for example, up to approximately 10% of the diameter from the outer circumferential edge 18a.
  • the edge bead 26 may be formed on the entirety of the planar region 24 or it may be formed on a portion of the outer peripheral side of the planar region 24.
  • the spinning body 30 having a spinning face 28 is prepared (FIG. IE).
  • the spinning body 30 has a three-dimensional shape formed by spinning any plane figure around an axis in the same plane.
  • the spinning body 30 may have a circular truncated cone shape, and in such case, the spinning face 28 is a circular truncated cone face.
  • the spinning body 30 may have a conical (spinning face 28 is a conical face) shape (FIG. 2B) or columnar (spinning face 28 is a cylindrical face) shape (FIG. 2C).
  • a ball, abacus bead, or other variety of shapes may be adopted as the spinning body.
  • the spinning body 30 has a circular truncated cone, conical, or columnar shape, a diameter of the bottom face of, for example, not less than approximately 20 mm and not greater than approximately 100 mm, and a height of not less than approximately 20 mm and not greater than approximately 100 mm may be used.
  • the spinning face 28 of the spinning body 30 contacts a portion of the annular planar region 24 along the outer circumferential edge 18a in an appropriate position relative to the object 10 where the edge bead 26 is formed on the liquid coating 14 (FIG. IE).
  • the spinning face 28 contacts a point substantially on a border between the outer circumferential surface 18 and the face 12 of the object 10 in any position closer to the small diameter side than the large diameter side.
  • the liquid material 22 that constitutes the liquid coating 14 contacts the spinning face 28 of the spinning body 30 at essentially one portion of the edge bead 26.
  • the object 10 is spun around the center axis 12a while maintaining contact as illustrated in FIG. IE and at the same time, the spinning body 30 is spun around its own rotational axis 30a.
  • This type of spinning action by the object 10 and the spinning body 30 continuously pulls a portion of the liquid material 22 that makes up the edge bead 26 to the spinning face 28 to continuously transfer it to the spinning face 28 from the planar region 24 (FIG. IF).
  • the spinning face 28 of the spinning body 30 continuously contacts the annular edge bead 26, but spinning the spinning body 30 at the same time constantly updates the contact location of the spinning face 28 that contacts the edge bead 26.
  • the liquid material 22 that makes up the edge bead 26 is prevented from being pushed back onto the face 12 of the object 10 by the spinning face 28, and the liquid material 22 smoothly transfers to the spinning face 28. Further, because the spinning face 28 of the spinning body 30 maintains contact with a portion of the planar region 24 of the object 10 during the spinning action described above, the liquid material 22 continuously transfers to the spinning face 28 at a substantially constant flow rate.
  • the liquid material 22 that has transferred from the planar region 24 of the object 10, while spinning, to the spinning face 28 of the spinning body 30, while spinning, is continuously removed from the spinning face 28, while spinning, by an appropriate removal part 32 such as a doctor blade or the like that acts on the spinning face 28 in a position away from the planar region 24 and is moved to a location away from the planar region 24, i.e. the object 10 (FIG. IF).
  • an appropriate removal part 32 such as a doctor blade or the like that acts on the spinning face 28 in a position away from the planar region 24 and is moved to a location away from the planar region 24, i.e. the object 10 (FIG. IF).
  • the spinning body 30 having the spinning face 28 made of a circular truncated cone face is used, as long as the liquid material 22 is removed from the spinning face 28 in a position on the side opposite the position that contacts the planar region 24 as illustrated in the drawing, for example, the removed liquid material 22" can be moved to a location away from the object 10 using only the effect of gravity.
  • the edge bead 26 is eliminated from the liquid coating 14 by simultaneously spinning the spinning body 30 and the object 10 with the planar region 24 and the spinning face 28 in mutual contact continuously across the time for the object 10 to spin not less than one time.
  • the edge bead 26 can be removed with good reproducibility from the liquid coating 14 formed on the face 12 of the object 10.
  • the spinning body 30 used in the coat formation method according to the embodiment described above may have a smooth spinning face 28 made of a hard material that has excellent abrasion resistance in at least the region that contacts the object 10.
  • the spinning face 28 may, for example, have an arithmetic average roughness (Ra) of not greater than approximately 0.01 ⁇ , and it may have a Vickers hardness (HV) of not less than approximately 1000.
  • the spinning face 28 may be, for example, a polished finished face made of hard chrome plating or a polished finished face made of alumina or other ceramic.
  • the spinning face 28 may be formed from engineering plastic or other such hard material.
  • the spinning body 30 may be spun around the rotational axis 30a (FIG. 1) at the same time that the object 10 is spun around the center axis 12a (FIG. 1) in directions where the planar region 24 and the spinning face 28 mutually move in reverse (i.e. opposing) at a contact site therebetween, as illustrated in FIG. 4A.
  • the liquid material 22 that makes up the edge bead 26 can be transferred to the spinning face 28 at a constant flow rate without interruption.
  • a tangential velocity V2 of not less than a tangential velocity VI of the planar region 24 can be generated on the spinning face 28 at the contact site between the planar region 24 of the object 10 and the spinning face 28 of the spinning body 30.
  • the object 10 and the spinning body 30 can be spun in directions where the planar region 24 and the spinning face 28 mutually move forward at a contact site therebetween, and the tangential velocity VI of the planar region 24 may be faster than the tangential velocity V2 of the spinning face 28. Further, the spinning speed of the object 10 in the transfer step may be sufficiently slower than the spinning speed of the object 10 in the spin coating process described above (FIGS. 1A to 1C).
  • the object 10 and the spinning body 30 may be disposed so that an angle ⁇ formed by the planar region 24 and the spinning face 28 becomes, for example, not less than approximately 1° and not greater than approximately 3° (FIG. 4B illustrates an enlarged view of ⁇ for ease of illustration in the drawing).
  • an angle ⁇ formed by the planar region 24 and the spinning face 28 becomes, for example, not less than approximately 1° and not greater than approximately 3°
  • FIG. 4B illustrates an enlarged view of ⁇ for ease of illustration in the drawing.
  • the object 10 it is possible to bend the object 10 by pushing the spinning face 28 of the spinning body 30 onto the planar region 24. Additionally, in the transfer step, with the object 10 bent, the object 10 and the spinning body 30 can be spun. According to this configuration, even if the object 10 has a noncircular profile, contact between the spinning face 28, while spinning, and a portion of the planar region 24 of the object 10, while spinning, can be essentially maintained without change in the relative positions of the object 10 and the spinning body 30, thereby enabling the edge bead 26 to be reliably eliminated from the liquid coating 14. For example, adopting a configuration in which the angle ⁇ described above is not less than approximately 1 ° and not greater than approximately 3° makes it easy to maintain contact between the spinning face 28 and the planar region 24 along the noncircular profile.
  • FIG. 5 illustrates a coat formation device 40 according to an embodiment.
  • the coat formation device 40 is a device that can implement the coat formation method according to the embodiment described above, and constituents that correspond to the constituents described with reference to FIG. 1 to FIG. 4 will have the same reference numerals and descriptions thereof will be omitted.
  • the coat formation device 40 is a device that forms the liquid coating 14 on the face 12 of the object 10 that has the outer circumferential edge 18a, and the coat formation device 40 is provided with the object support part 20 that supports the object 10 where the liquid material 22 (FIG. 1) is disposed on the face 12, the spinning body 30 that spins around the rotational axis 30a by causing the spinning face 28 to contact a portion of the annular planar region 24 along the outer circumferential edge 18a of the object 10 supported on the object support part 20, the drive part 42 that spins the object support part 20 having the object 10 supported thereon around the center axis 12a of the face 12, and the removal part 32 that removes the liquid material 22 that has transferred from the planar region 24 of the object 10 to the spinning face 28 of the spinning body 30 from the spinning face 28 to a location away from the planar region 24.
  • the object support part 20 has a support face 20a where the object 10 is fixed and supported by, for example, a vacuum (vacuum is comprehensively referred to in this specification as not only the existence of negative pressure lower than the atmospheric pressure, but also the existence of a reduced pressure lower than the air pressure around the object 10).
  • the object support part 20 illustrated in the drawing has a configuration that supports only the center portion of the object 10 while the outer circumferential portion, including the planar region 24, is not supported.
  • the spinning body 30 has a circular truncated cone shape, and the spinning face 28 has a circular truncated cone face.
  • the drive part 42 may have, for example, an electric motor and can drive the object support part 20 at, at least, two differing rotational speeds including a rotational speed of the object 10 required by the spin coating process (FIG. 1 A to 1C) and a rotational speed of the object 10 required by the edge bead elimination process (FIG. IE to IF).
  • the coat formation device 40 illustrated in the drawing is further provided with a second drive part 44 that spins the spinning body 30 around the rotational axis 30a.
  • the second drive part 44 can spin the spinning body 30 around the rotational axis 30a in a direction where the planar region 24 of the object 10 and the spinning face 28 of the spinning body 30 mutually move in reverse (i.e. opposing) at a contact site therebetween.
  • the second drive part 44 can spin the spinning body 30 around the rotational axis 30a so that a tangential velocity of not less than the tangential velocity of the planar region 24 is generated on the spinning face 28 at the contact site between the planar region 24 of the object 10 and the spinning face 28 of the spinning body 30.
  • the second drive part 44 may have, for example, an electric motor.
  • the coat formation device 40 illustrated in the drawing is further provided with an angle adjusting part 46 that adjusts the angle ⁇ formed between the planar region 24 and the spinning face 28 (FIG. 4B) at the time that the spinning face 28 of the spinning body 30 contacts the planar region 24 of the object 10.
  • the angle adjusting part 46 may have a configuration that includes, for example, an electric motor as a drive source, or adjustment may be performed manually.
  • the coat formation device 40 illustrated in the drawing is further provided with a movement mechanism 48 that moves the object support part 20 that supports the object 10 between the spin coating stage (illustrated by the dotted line) that performs the spin coating process (FIG. 1 A to 1C) and the edge bead elimination stage (indicated by the solid line) that performs the edge bead elimination process (FIG. IE to IF).
  • the movement mechanism 48 illustrated in the drawing is configured to move the object support part 20 in a vertical direction between the spin coating stage at the lower stage and the edge bead elimination stage at the upper stage.
  • an annular shaped cup 50 that catches the excess liquid material 22' (FIG.
  • the cup 50 has an opening 52 in a shape that can catch the liquid material 22' without spilling. Further, the cup 50 can also catch the liquid material 22" (FIG. IF), via the opening 52, that falls due to gravity after being removed from the spinning face 28 of the spinning body 30 in the edge bead elimination stage. The liquid materials 22' and 22" caught in the cup 50 may be recovered by a recovery route not illustrated and reused. Further, in the edge bead elimination stage, the spinning body 30 is disposed in a predetermined position so that the spinning face 28 can contact the planar region 24 of the object 10 supported by the object support part 20.
  • the face 12 of the object 10 is disposed face up and substantially horizontal, and the object 10 is placed and fixed to the object support part 20 (FIG. 1A).
  • the liquid material 22 is supplied onto the face 12 of the object 10 (FIG. IB)
  • the drive part 42 spins the object support part 20 at high speed around the center axis 12a of the face 12 such that the liquid material 22 essentially spreads over the entirety of the face 12 by the centrifugal force (FIG. 1C), and the excess liquid material 22' (FIG. 1C) to be released outward from the outer circumferential edge 18a of the object 10 is caught in the cup 50.
  • the movement mechanism 48 moves the object support part 20 upward in a vertical direction and places it in the edge bead elimination stage.
  • the drive part 42 may stop the spinning of the object support part 20 (FIG. ID) or it may spin the object support part 20 at a low speed required by the edge bead elimination process.
  • the edge bead 26 is formed on the liquid coating 14 caused by surface tension and the like in the annular planar region 24 of the object 10 (FIG. ID).
  • a portion of the planar region 24 of the object 10 supported by the object support part 20 contacts the spinning face 28 of the spinning body 30 (FIG. IE).
  • the angle adjusting part 46 places the spinning body 30 in advance in a disposition so that the angle ⁇ formed when the planar region 24 and the spinning face 28 mutually contact (FIG. 4B) becomes, for example, not less than approximately 1° and not greater than approximately 3°.
  • the second drive part 44 spins the spinning body 30 at a predetermined speed in a predetermined direction around the rotational axis 30a (FIG. IF).
  • the second drive part 44 after the planar region 24 of the object 10 has contacted the spinning face 28 of the spinning body 30, initiates spinning of the spinning body 30 while the drive part 42 re-initiates the spinning of the object support part 20 at the same time.
  • the second drive part 44 spins the spinning body 30 in advance before the planar region 24 of the object 10 contacts the spinning face 28 of the spinning body 30.
  • an orientation flat 54 (FIG. 6A) or a notch 56 (FIG. 6B) may be provided on the outer circumferential edge 18a of the object 10 to specify the crystal orientation of the wafer.
  • the movement mechanism 48 moves the object 10 and the object support part 20 to the edge bead elimination stage in the coat formation device 40, the object support part 20 is placed in a position where the object 10 is bent by pressing the planar region 24 of the object 10 onto the spinning face 28 of the spinning body 30, as illustrated in FIG. 7.
  • the spinning body 30 may be moved by a different movement mechanism (not illustrated) than the movement mechanism 48 to a position where the spinning face 28 is pressed to the planar region 24 and the object 10 is bent.
  • the angle adjusting part 46 appropriately adjusts the angle ⁇ (FIG. 4B) formed between the planar region 24 and the spinning face 28 during mutual contact, so it is possible to adjust the extent to which the edge bead 26 is eliminated.
  • the edge bead 26 after the spin coating process, may be formed not only on the face 12 of the object 10 but on the outer circumferential surface 18.
  • a state where a portion of the edge bead 26 juts out from the face 12 to the outer circumferential surface 18 is illustrated also for the object 10 that has the outer circumferential surface 18 with a cross-sectional arc shape of FIG. 1 (FIG. ID).
  • the coat formation device 40 can eliminate the edge bead 26 formed spanning between the face 12 and the outer circumferential surface 18 even in the object 10 that has an outer circumferential surface 18 having a different shape than that of the outer circumferential surface 18 with a cross-sectional arc shape of FIG. 1 using a similar method to the coat formation method described with reference to FIG. 5.
  • the edge bead 26 may be formed by jutting out from the face 12 to the face 18B.
  • the coat formation device 40 can adjust the disposition of the spinning body 30 so that, by the angle adjusting part 46, the spinning face 28 contacts the face 18B.
  • the edge bead 26 formed by jutting out from the face 12 to the face 18B is eliminated.
  • the face 18A configures the outer circumferential edge 18a and the face 18B configures a portion of the annular planar region 24 along the outer circumferential edge 18a.
  • a columnar shaped spinning body 30 (FIG. 2C) may be used instead of the circular truncated cone shaped spinning body 30 illustrated in FIG. 8 on condition that the removal part 32 can be placed in a position where the liquid material 22" (FIG. IF) continuously removed by the removal part 32 from the spinning face 28 of the spinning body 30 can be caught by the cup 50 without spilling.
  • edge bead 26 is formed by jutting out to the face 18 A via the face 18B from the face
  • the coat formation device 40 can adjust the disposition of the spinning body 30, by the angle adjusting part 46, so that the spinning face 28 contacts the face 18 A.
  • edge bead elimination process illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9 is further implemented to thereby eliminate the edge bead 26 that has formed by jutting out to the edge 18B.
  • the face 18A configures both the outer circumferential edge 18a and a portion of the annular planar region 24 along the outer circumferential edge 18a.
  • the removal part 32 is placed in a position where the liquid material 22" (FIG. IF) continuously removed from the spinning face 28 of the spinning body 30 is safely caught in the cup 50, but a circular truncated cone shaped or a conical shaped spinning body 30 (FIGS. 2A and 2B) may be used in place of the columnar shaped spinning body 30 illustrated in FIG. 10 on condition that the removal part 32 is placed in a similar position.
  • the coat formation device 40 described above is provided with a second drive part 44 that spins the spinning body 30 at a predetermined speed and in a predetermined direction.
  • a configuration may also be adopted, for example, in which the spinning body 30 is driven to spin following the object 10 by a friction force or the like while the spinning face 28 is in contact with the planar region 24 of the object 10.
  • the spinning body 30 is driven to spin around the rotational axis 30a in a direction where the spinning face 28 and the planar region 24 of the object 10 mutually move forward at a contact site
  • FIG. 12 schematically illustrates the main steps for when the coat formation method described above is applied to a method for producing a semiconductor chip.
  • constituents that correspond to the constituents described with reference to FIG. 1 to FIG. 4 will have the same reference numerals and descriptions thereof will be omitted.
  • the object 10 is a wafer (hereinafter, referred to as wafer 10) made of a base material of a semiconductor chip, and the face 12 is a circuit face (hereinafter, referred to as circuit face 12) where a required circuit pattern is formed, and the face 16 is a rear face (hereinafter, referred to as rear face 16) on the side opposite the circuit face 12.
  • the circuit face 12 may have a variety of protrusions 13 due to the printed wiring and the like.
  • the liquid material 22 is a liquid adhesive (hereinafter, referred to as liquid adhesive 22) for bonding the wafer 10 to a film, glass, or other substrate 60.
  • the wafer 10 having the circuit face 12 and the rear face 16 as well as having the outer circumferential surface 18 and the outer circumferential edge 18a, the substrate 60 having a face 60a greater than the circuit face 12 of the wafer 10, a frame member 62 having a shape and dimensions that can be disposed along an outer circumferential edge 60b of the substrate 60, and the liquid adhesive 22 are prepared.
  • the liquid adhesive 22 is a liquid prior to curing or solidifying, and once cured or solidified, exhibits an adhesive strength which holds the substrate 60 firmly secured to the wafer 10.
  • the liquid adhesive 22 may be, for example, an aqueous dispersion-type adhesive, thermoplastic resin containing a curable adhesive, a solvent based adhesive, or a hot melt-type adhesive, or the like.
  • the curable adhesive is a liquid cured through irradiation with energy, such as heat, radiation (i.e. ultraviolet rays), or the like, or an adhesive for thermal bonding film that dissolves when heated;
  • the solvent based adhesive is a liquid adhesive solidified through the evaporation of a solvent;
  • the hot melt-type adhesive is an adhesive that is melted through heating and solidified through cooling.
  • the aqueous dispersion-type adhesive is an adhesive where the adhesive component is dispersed in water and is solidified through the evaporation of the water.
  • curable adhesives examples include one -component thermally curable adhesives based on epoxy or urethane; two-liquid mixed reaction adhesives based on epoxy, urethane, or acryl; and radiation (ultraviolet or electron- beam) curable adhesives based on acryl or epoxy.
  • solvent based adhesives examples include rubber-based adhesives, wherein rubber, elastomers, or the like are dissolved in solvents. Note that, in this application, the term "solidify" is narrowly defined as to cure and to solidify.
  • the wafer 10 is placed on the object support part 20 with the circuit face 12 face up and disposed to be substantially horizontal (FIG. 12A), and the liquid adhesive 22 is disposed in a region including the center axis 12a of the circuit face 12 of the wafer 10 (FIG. 12B).
  • spinning the wafer 10 around the center axis 12a spreads the liquid adhesive 22 over essentially the entirety of the circuit face 12 (FIG. 12C).
  • the liquid adhesive 22 fills the gaps between the protrusions 13 formed on the circuit face 12 of the wafer 10, and the excess liquid adhesive 22' is released to the outside from the outer circumferential edge 18a of the wafer 10 by the centrifugal force.
  • the liquid adhesive 22 flow so as to cover at least the annular planar region 24 along the outer circumferential edge 18a of the wafer 10 due to the centrifugal force by spinning the wafer 10.
  • the edge bead elimination process (FIGS. IE and IF) described above is implemented on the wafer 10 placed on the object support part 20. Specifically, a step of preparing the spinning body 30 having the spinning face 28 (FIG. IE), a step of causing the spinning face 28 of the spinning body 30 to contact a portion of the planar region 24 of the wafer 10 (FIG. IE), a step of spinning the wafer 10 around the center axis 12a while at the same time spinning the spinning body 30 around its own rotational axis 30a to transfer a portion of the liquid adhesive 22 from the planar region 24 to the spinning face 28 (FIG.
  • edge bead elimination process the edge bead 26 is eliminated from the liquid coating 14 formed by the liquid adhesive 22 on the circuit face 12 of the wafer 10.
  • a frame member 62 is secured along the outer circumferential edge 60b of the substrate 60 by the same adhesive and the like as the liquid adhesive 22. Furthermore, the wafer 10 where a portion of the liquid adhesive 22 has transferred from the planar region 24 to the spinning face 28 is disposed on the substrate 60 in a position where the circuit face 12 and the face 60a oppose each other and a region along the outer circumferential edge 60b of the substrate 60 and the frame member 62 hang over the outer side of the wafer 10 such that the liquid adhesive 22 (i.e. the liquid coating 14) that remains on the circuit face 12 contacts the face 60a of the substrate 60 (FIG. 12D).
  • the liquid adhesive 22 i.e. the liquid coating 14
  • the liquid adhesive 22 is solidified by a method according to its composition (for example, ultraviolet radiation), and the wafer 10 is bonded to the substrate 60 by the solidified adhesive layer 64 (FIG. 12E).
  • the wafer 10 having the circuit case 12 side bonded to the substrate 60 is picked up from the object support part 20 together with the frame member 62, the top and bottom are inverted, and the rear face 16 of the wafer 10 is placed face up on a separate stationary stand or the like.
  • the entire rear face 16 of the wafer 10 undergoes grinding by a grinding device (not illustrated) to form a flat processed face 66 (FIG. 12F).
  • a grinding device not illustrated
  • FIG. 12F the rear face grinding process of the wafer 10 is complete.
  • the individually divided chips 70 are, for example, pushed up by a pin or the like not illustrated from the outer surface 60c of the substrate 60 and can be taken up one at a time from the substrate 60 by inducing peeling in the interface between the adhesive layer 64 and the surface of the chip 70.
  • the edge bead elimination process is used to eliminate the edge bead 26 from the liquid coating 14 formed by the liquid adhesive 22 on the circuit face 12 of the wafer 10. Eliminating the edge bead 26 from the liquid coating 14 allows the amount of solidified adhesive layer 64 jutting outward along the outer circumferential edge 18a of the wafer 10 after the wafer 10 is bonded to the substrate 60 to be reduced.
  • the subsequent rear face grinding process and dicing process can be implemented safely because the occurrence of peeling in the adhesive layer 64 originating in this type of jutting out portion is prevented.
  • the coat formation device 40 described above was used to conduct the edge bead elimination process described above after forming the liquid coating 14 of the liquid adhesive 22 on the circuit face 12 of the wafer 10 made of silicon and having a diameter of 200 mm using the spin coating process (FIGS. 12A to 12C).
  • a liquid adhesive 22 an acrylic-based ultraviolet-curable adhesive LC-3200 attainable from Sumitomo 3M Limited was used.
  • the spin coating process the object support part 20 supporting the wafer 10 was spun by the drive part 42 at a rotation speed of approximately 1000 rpm.
  • the edge bead elimination process the object support part 20 supporting the wafer 10 was spun by the drive part 42 at a rotation speed of approximately 60 rpm.
  • the spinning body 30 with the spinning face 28 in contact with a portion of the planar region 24 the wafer 10 was spun by the second drive part 44 at approximately 800 rpm.
  • the second drive part 44 spun the spinning body 30 in a direction where the planar region 24 of the wafer 10 and the spinning face 28 of the spinning body 30 mutually move in reverse at a contact site therebetween.
  • the tangential velocity of the planar region 24 was 628 mm/second and the tangential velocity of the spinning face 28 was 837 mm/second.
  • the angle ⁇ (FIG.
  • the coat formation method and the coat formation device 40 described above can also apply to bonding the circular object 10 instead of the wafer 10 to other members using the liquid adhesive 22 to eliminate the edge bead 26 from the liquid coating 14 formed on the face 12 of the object 10 by the spin coating process.
  • a small amount of liquid adhesive 22 may remain on the outer circumferential surface 18 without completely eliminating the edge bead 26 for the purpose of, for example, protecting the outer circumferential surface 18 of the object 10.
  • appropriately adjusting the angle ⁇ (FIG.
  • the coat formation method and the coat formation device 40 described above may also eliminate the edge bead 26 from the liquid coating 14 made of a photoresist after a photoresist has been applied, using the spin coating process, to the face 12 of the object 10, when forming circuits on a predetermined face of the wafer 10 (i.e. when forming the circuit face 12). If the photoresist has an edge bead 26 immediately after application, peeling the dried photoresist from the portion that corresponds to the edge bead 26 may become easier, and the generation of this type of peeling can also be prevented when using the coat formation method and the coat formation device 40 described above.
  • the coat formation method and the coat formation device 40 described above can eliminate the edge bead 26 from the liquid coating 14 made of coating fluids when various coating fluids (liquid material 22) are applied on the face 12 of various objects 10 where, for example, a lubricant is applied to a face of a magnetic disk or the like, after the coating fluid is supplied by the spin coating process to the face 12 of the object 10. If the coating fluid has an edge bead 26 immediately after application, peeling the dried coating fluid from the portion that corresponds to the edge bead 26 may become easier, and the generation of this type of peeling can also be prevented when using the coat formation method and the coat formation device 40 described above.

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Abstract

Problem: Eliminating an edge bead from a liquid coating using a method that has excellent reproducibility when forming a liquid coating on a face of an object using the spin coating method. Resolution Means: A coat formation method that forms a liquid coating 14 on a face 12 of an object 10 having an outer circumferential edge 18a. The object 10 is spun around a center axis 12a of the face 12, a liquid material 22 is supplied onto the face 12, and the liquid material 22 is caused to flow so as to cover at least an annular planar region 24 along the outer circumferential edge 18a of the object 10. A spinning face 28 of a spinning body 30 is caused to contact a portion of the planar region 24 of the object 10. The object 10 is spun around the center axis 12a while simultaneously spinning the spinning body 30 around its own rotational axis 30a and a portion of the liquid material 22 is transferred from the planar region 24 to the spinning face 28. The liquid material 22 that has transferred to the spinning face 28 is removed from the spinning face 28 to a location away from the planar region 24

Description

COAT FORMATION METHOD, COAT FORMATION DEVICE, AND METHOD FOR
PRODUCING SEMICONDUCTOR CHIP
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001]
The present invention relates to a coat formation method for forming a liquid coating on a face of an object and to a coat formation device. The present invention also relates to a method for producing a semiconductor chip that has a coat formation process. BACKGROUND ART
[0002]
Known methods for forming a liquid coating on a desired face of an object include a method that produces a liquid coating by supplying a liquid material onto a target face and spinning an object around the center axis of the face such that the liquid material spreads over essentially the entire face due to the centrifugal force (for example, known as the spin coating method). The spin coating method, for example, in a method for producing a semiconductor chip, is implemented in a process that applies a liquid adhesive for bonding a wafer to a film, glass, or other substrate, to a circuit face of a wafer and a process for applying a photoresist to a face when forming circuits on a face of the wafer. Further, the spin coating method may also be implemented in processes for applying a coating fluid in a uniform thickness to faces of various objects, for example, applying a lubricant to a face of a magnetic disk, and the like.
[0003]
With the spin coating method, excess liquid material is released outward from the outer circumferential edge of the object by the centrifugal force during formation of the liquid coating on the face of the object. At this time, if the face of the object were to be disposed horizontally, after the spinning of the object has stopped, the liquid coating is formed by a required amount of liquid material remaining on the face in a substantially uniform thickness. However, with an annular planar region along the outer circumferential edge of the object, a localized buildup is formed (known as, for example, an edge bead) on the liquid coating caused by surface tension and the like which may result in a non-uniform thickness of the liquid coating.
[0004]
Patent Document 1 discloses a spin coating device that can suppress the occurrence of edge bead and a spin coating method. Patent Document 1 discloses matters including, "after a coating solution is dropped on a surface of a substrate to be treated W, a holding table 4, a chuck 5, the substrate to be treated W, and a plate 7 are spun in one piece on a spinner. The air between the holding table 4 and the plate 7 is pushed to the outer side portion inside a cup 1 by the centrifugal force due to spinning and is discharged outside the cup 1 via a discharge port 3," "as the air between the holding table 4 and the plate 7 is discharged, comparable air enters from the gap 9 between the outer periphery of the substrate to be treated W and the inner periphery of an opening 8, as illustrated in FIG. 3B. That is, a downward airflow is generated in the portion of the gap 9 that cancels the turbulence generated by spinning," and "because a forceful downward airflow is generated on the substrate peripheral edge portion, an edge bead on the peripheral edge portion can be made to not occur, or if it does occur, its width can be made to be extremely narrow, when forming a coating film on a square substrate, without the occurrence of fringe in the corners of the substrate and regardless of the substrate shape, and thereby, the effective area on the substrate can be expanded."
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006]
When forming a liquid coating on a face of an object using the spin coating method, rather than depending on the effects of an air current, the ability to eliminate an edge bead from the liquid coating using a method that has excellent reproducibility is desired. Means to Solve the Problem
[0007]
An aspect of the present invention is a coat formation method that forms a liquid coating on a face of an object having an outer circumferential edge, including the steps of: spinning the object around a center axis of the face, supplying a liquid material onto the face, and causing the liquid material to flow so as to cover at least an annular planar region along the outer circumferential edge of the object; preparing a spinning body having a spinning face; causing the spinning face of the spinning body to contact a portion of a planar region of the object; spinning the object around the center axis while simultaneously spinning the spinning body around the rotational axis of the spinning body and causing a portion of the liquid material to transfer from the planar region to the spinning face; and removing the liquid material that transferred to the spinning face from the spinning face to a location away from the planar region.
[0008]
Another aspect of the present invention is a coat formation device that forms a liquid coating on a face of an object having an outer circumferential edge, including: an object support part that supports the object having liquid material disposed on the face; a spinning body of the object supported by the object support part that spins around a rotational axis by causing a spinning face to contact a portion of an annular planar region along the outer circumferential edge; a drive part that spins the object support part supporting the object around a center axis of the face; and a removal part that removes the liquid material that transferred from the planar region of the object to the spinning face of the spinning body from the spinning face to a location away from the planar region.
[0009]
Yet another aspect of the present invention is a method for producing a semiconductor chip, including the steps of: spinning a wafer having a circuit face and an outer circumferential edge around a center axis of the circuit face, supplying a liquid adhesive to the circuit face, and causing the liquid adhesive to flow so as to cover at least an annular planar region along the outer circumferential edge of the wafer; preparing a spinning body having a spinning face; causing the spinning face of the spinning body to contact a portion of the planar region of the wafer; spinning the wafer around the center axis while simultaneously spinning the spinning body around the rotational axis of the spinning body and causing a portion of the liquid adhesive to transfer from the planar region to the spinning face; removing the liquid adhesive that transferred to the spinning face from the spinning face to a location away from the planar region; bonding the wafer, in which a portion of the liquid adhesive has transferred from the planar region to the spinning face, to a substrate via the liquid adhesive that remains on the circuit face; and grinding a rear face on a side opposite the circuit face, of the wafer bonded to the substrate.
EFFECT OF THE INVENTION
[0010]
With the coat formation method according to an aspect of the present invention, the edge bead is eliminated from the liquid coating by simultaneously spinning the spinning body and the object with the planar region and the spinning face in mutual contact continuously across the time for the object to spin not less than one time. At this time, because a constant flow rate of liquid material is continuously transferred to the spinning face of the spinning body from the planar region of the object and the transferred liquid material can be continuously removed from the spinning face, the edge bead can be removed with good reproducibility from the liquid coating formed on the face of the object.
[0011]
With the coat formation device according to another aspect of the present invention, the edge bead is eliminated from the liquid coating by simultaneously spinning the spinning body and the object with the planar region and the spinning face in mutual contact continuously across the time for the object to spin not less than one time. At this time, because a constant flow rate of liquid material is continuously transferred to the spinning face of the spinning body from the planar region of the object supported by the object support part due to the drive of the drive part and the transferred liquid material can be continuously removed from the spinning face by the removal part, the edge bead can be removed with good reproducibility from the liquid coating formed on the face of the object.
[0012]
With the method for producing a semiconductor chip according to yet another aspect of the present invention, the edge bead can be eliminated from the liquid coating formed on the circuit face of a wafer by a liquid adhesive before the wafer is bonded to a substrate. After the wafer is bonded to the substrate when the edge bead is eliminated from the liquid coating of the liquid adhesive, the amount of hardened adhesive layer that juts outward along the outer circumferential edge of the wafer is reduced. Once the jutting out amount of the adhesive layer along the outer circumferential edge of the wafer is reduced, the subsequent rear face grinding step can be implemented safely because the occurrence of peeling in the adhesive layer originating in this type of jutting out portion is prevented. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013]
FIGS. 1A to IF are cross-sectional views schematically illustrating main steps of the coat formation method to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIGS. 2A to 2C are perspective views illustrating several working examples of a spinning body used in the coat formation method of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a plan view illustrating an example of an object to which the coat formation method of FIG. 1 can be applied.
FIG. 4A is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a liquid material transfer step and FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a liquid material removal step in the coat formation method of FIG. 1.
FIG. 5 is a drawing schematically illustrating a coat formation device according to an embodiment.
FIGS. 6 A and 6B are plan views illustrating another example of an object to which the coat formation method of FIG. 1 can be applied.
FIG. 7 is a drawing schematically illustrating a variation of the coat formation method according to the coat formation device of FIG. 5.
FIG. 8 is a drawing schematically illustrating another variation of the coat formation method according to the coat formation device of FIG. 5.
FIG. 9 is an enlarged cross-sectional view illustrating an example of an object to which the coat formation method of FIG. 8 can be applied.
FIG. 10 is a drawing schematically illustrating yet another variation of the coat formation method according to the coat formation device of FIG. 5.
FIG. 11 is an enlarged cross-sectional view illustrating an example of an object to which the coat formation method according to the coat formation device of FIG. 10 can be applied.
FIGS. 12A to 12G are cross-sectional views schematically illustrating main steps of a method for producing a semiconductor chip in which the coat formation method according to an embodiment can be used.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0014]
Embodiments according to the present invention will be explained in detail below, referencing the appended figures. Throughout all of the figures, corresponding structural elements will be assigned common reference codes. FIGS. 1A to IF are drawings illustrating the main steps of the coat formation method according to an embodiment; FIG. 2 is a drawing illustrating an example of a spinning body used in the coat formation method; FIG. 3 is a drawing illustrating an example of an object to which the coat formation method can be applied; and FIGS. 4A and 4B are drawings illustrating a liquid material transfer step and a liquid material removal step in the coat formation method.
[0015]
The coat formation method illustrated in the drawings is used for forming a liquid coating 14 on any face 12 of an object 10, and can be implemented, for example, in a method for producing a semiconductor chip, in a process for applying a liquid adhesive to a circuit face of a wafer to bond the wafer to a film, glass, or other substrate, and in a process for applying a photoresist on the face when forming circuits on the face of the wafer. Further, the coat formation method can also be implemented in processes for applying a coating fluid in a uniform thickness to faces of various objects, for example, applying a lubricant to a face of a magnetic disk, and the like.
[0016]
The object 10 to which the coat formation method illustrated in the drawings can be applied includes, as illustrated in FIG. 1, a substantially flat first face 12, a second face 16 that extends substantially parallel to the face 12 on the side opposite the face 12, and an annular outer circumferential surface 18 that extends by curving in an arc shape outward between the first face 12 and the second face 16, and an annular outer circumferential edge 18a is formed on the outermost part of the outer circumferential surface 18. Further, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the object 10 may be a circular member having substantially circular profile and may be, for example, a wafer or substrate made of silicon, gallium arsenide, liquid crystal, sapphire, glass, or the like. If the object 10 is a circular member, a diameter D of the object 10 may be, for example, not less than approximately 50 mm and not greater than approximately 500 mm.
[0017]
As illustrated in FIG. 1 , in the coat formation method according to an embodiment, the face 12 of the object 10 is first disposed face up and substantially horizontal, and the object 10 is placed in the appropriate object support part 20 (FIG. 1A). In this state, the liquid material 22 is supplied to a region that includes a center axis 12a of the face 12 of the object 10 (FIG. IB), and the object 10 is spun around the center axis 12a of the face 12 such that the liquid material 22 spreads over essentially the entire face 12 by the centrifugal force (FIG. 1C). While the liquid material 22 is spreading over the face 12 of the object 10, the excess liquid material 22' is released outward from the outer circumferential edge 18a of the object 10 by the centrifugal force. The above process is performed according to the known spin coating method.
[0018]
When stopping the spinning of the object 10 with a required amount of liquid material 22 remaining on the face 12, the liquid coating 14 is formed having a substantially uniform thickness on the face 12 (FIG. ID). In this state, with the annular planar region 24 (FIG. 3) along the outer circumferential edge 18a of the object 10, the localized annular buildup (edge bead) 26 is formed on the liquid coating 14 caused by surface tension and the like. The coat formation method according to the illustrated embodiment can eliminate the edge bead 26 from the liquid coating 14 using a method that has excellent reproducibility. The dimensions of the edge bead 26 differ depending on the viscosity and the like of the liquid material 22, but the width W is, for example, not less than approximately 0.1 mm and not greater than approximately 20 mm, not less than approximately 0.3 mm and not greater than approximately 10 mm, or not less than approximately 0.5 mm and not greater than approximately 5 mm, and the height H is, for example, not less than approximately 50% and not greater than approximately 100% of the thickness of the liquid coating 14 (FIG. ID).
[0019]
Note that the edge bead 26 is not limited to the liquid material 22 spreading over the entirety of the face 12 as in the illustration due to the spinning of the object 10, but this is expected to occur when the liquid material 22 flows so as to cover at least the annular planar region 24 of the face 12 along the outer circumferential edge 18a. Therefore, causing the liquid material 22 to flow so as to cover at least the annular planar region 24 by centrifugal force due to the spinning of the object 10 is required in the step of FIG. 1C for this coat formation method. The planar region 24 differs depending on the dimensions of the face 12 of the object 10, but it may be, for example, a region of approximately 20 mm inward from the outer circumferential edge 18a, a region of approximately 10 mm inward from the outer circumferential edge 18a, or a region of approximately 5 mm inward from the outer circumferential edge 18a. When the object 10 is a circular member, and when the diameter thereof is not less than approximately 50 mm and not greater than approximately 500 mm, the planar region 24 may be a region that widens to the inner side, for example, up to approximately 10% of the diameter from the outer circumferential edge 18a. The edge bead 26 may be formed on the entirety of the planar region 24 or it may be formed on a portion of the outer peripheral side of the planar region 24.
[0020]
In the coat formation method illustrated in the drawings, in order to eliminate the edge bead 26, the spinning body 30 having a spinning face 28 is prepared (FIG. IE). The spinning body 30 has a three-dimensional shape formed by spinning any plane figure around an axis in the same plane. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 2A, the spinning body 30 may have a circular truncated cone shape, and in such case, the spinning face 28 is a circular truncated cone face. Alternatively, the spinning body 30 may have a conical (spinning face 28 is a conical face) shape (FIG. 2B) or columnar (spinning face 28 is a cylindrical face) shape (FIG. 2C). Although not illustrated, a ball, abacus bead, or other variety of shapes may be adopted as the spinning body. When the spinning body 30 has a circular truncated cone, conical, or columnar shape, a diameter of the bottom face of, for example, not less than approximately 20 mm and not greater than approximately 100 mm, and a height of not less than approximately 20 mm and not greater than approximately 100 mm may be used. [0021]
In the coat formation method illustrated in the drawings, the spinning face 28 of the spinning body 30 contacts a portion of the annular planar region 24 along the outer circumferential edge 18a in an appropriate position relative to the object 10 where the edge bead 26 is formed on the liquid coating 14 (FIG. IE). In FIG. IE, the spinning face 28 contacts a point substantially on a border between the outer circumferential surface 18 and the face 12 of the object 10 in any position closer to the small diameter side than the large diameter side. By this, the liquid material 22 that constitutes the liquid coating 14 contacts the spinning face 28 of the spinning body 30 at essentially one portion of the edge bead 26.
[0022]
The object 10 is spun around the center axis 12a while maintaining contact as illustrated in FIG. IE and at the same time, the spinning body 30 is spun around its own rotational axis 30a. This type of spinning action by the object 10 and the spinning body 30 continuously pulls a portion of the liquid material 22 that makes up the edge bead 26 to the spinning face 28 to continuously transfer it to the spinning face 28 from the planar region 24 (FIG. IF). When spinning the object 10 in the contact state illustrated in FIG. IE, the spinning face 28 of the spinning body 30 continuously contacts the annular edge bead 26, but spinning the spinning body 30 at the same time constantly updates the contact location of the spinning face 28 that contacts the edge bead 26. Therefore, a portion of the liquid material 22 that makes up the edge bead 26 is prevented from being pushed back onto the face 12 of the object 10 by the spinning face 28, and the liquid material 22 smoothly transfers to the spinning face 28. Further, because the spinning face 28 of the spinning body 30 maintains contact with a portion of the planar region 24 of the object 10 during the spinning action described above, the liquid material 22 continuously transfers to the spinning face 28 at a substantially constant flow rate.
[0023]
Transferring the liquid material 22 continuously from the planar region 24 to the spinning face 28 gradually reduces the edge bead 26. If the viscosity of the liquid material 22 that constitutes the liquid coating 14 is relatively high (including when the viscosity increases by drying the liquid coating 14), the edge bead 26 will shrink so as to follow the spinning face 28 of the spinning body 30 and will essentially be eliminated from the liquid coating 14. Even if the viscosity of the liquid material 22 is low, the edge bead 26 formed originally by the centrifugal force will shrink as a result, and essentially be eliminated from the liquid coating 14 because the surface tension that maintains the beaded state disperses due to contact with the spinning face 28, thereby reducing the total amount of liquid material 22 that exists on the face 12 of the object 10.
[0024]
The liquid material 22 that has transferred from the planar region 24 of the object 10, while spinning, to the spinning face 28 of the spinning body 30, while spinning, is continuously removed from the spinning face 28, while spinning, by an appropriate removal part 32 such as a doctor blade or the like that acts on the spinning face 28 in a position away from the planar region 24 and is moved to a location away from the planar region 24, i.e. the object 10 (FIG. IF). In the illustrated
embodiment, because the spinning body 30 having the spinning face 28 made of a circular truncated cone face is used, as long as the liquid material 22 is removed from the spinning face 28 in a position on the side opposite the position that contacts the planar region 24 as illustrated in the drawing, for example, the removed liquid material 22" can be moved to a location away from the object 10 using only the effect of gravity.
[0025]
In this manner, with the coat formation method according to an embodiment, the edge bead 26 is eliminated from the liquid coating 14 by simultaneously spinning the spinning body 30 and the object 10 with the planar region 24 and the spinning face 28 in mutual contact continuously across the time for the object 10 to spin not less than one time. At this time, because a constant flow rate of liquid material 22 is continuously transferred to the spinning face 28 of the spinning body 30 from the planar region 24 of the object 10 and the transferred liquid material 22 can be continuously removed from the spinning face 28, the edge bead 26 can be removed with good reproducibility from the liquid coating 14 formed on the face 12 of the object 10.
[0026]
The spinning body 30 used in the coat formation method according to the embodiment described above may have a smooth spinning face 28 made of a hard material that has excellent abrasion resistance in at least the region that contacts the object 10. The spinning face 28 may, for example, have an arithmetic average roughness (Ra) of not greater than approximately 0.01 μιη, and it may have a Vickers hardness (HV) of not less than approximately 1000. The spinning face 28 may be, for example, a polished finished face made of hard chrome plating or a polished finished face made of alumina or other ceramic. Alternatively, the spinning face 28 may be formed from engineering plastic or other such hard material. By the spinning face 28 of the spinning body 30 having these types of characteristics, it is possible to prevent not only wear of the spinning face 28, but wear of the planar region 24 of the object 10. Note that the spinning face 28 preferably has properties to be easily wet by the liquid material 22.
[0027]
With the coat formation method according to the embodiment described above, in the step of transferring a portion of the liquid material 22 from the planar region 24 of the object 10 to the spinning face 28 of the spinning body 30 (FIG. IF) (hereinafter, referred to as the transfer step), the spinning body 30 may be spun around the rotational axis 30a (FIG. 1) at the same time that the object 10 is spun around the center axis 12a (FIG. 1) in directions where the planar region 24 and the spinning face 28 mutually move in reverse (i.e. opposing) at a contact site therebetween, as illustrated in FIG. 4A. With this configuration, the liquid material 22 that makes up the edge bead 26 can be transferred to the spinning face 28 at a constant flow rate without interruption. Moreover, in this case, a tangential velocity V2 of not less than a tangential velocity VI of the planar region 24 can be generated on the spinning face 28 at the contact site between the planar region 24 of the object 10 and the spinning face 28 of the spinning body 30. With this configuration, a portion of the liquid material 22 that makes up the edge bead 26 can be prevented from being pushed back onto the face 12 of the object 10 by the spinning face 28 more reliably.
[0028]
Note that, in the above transfer step, depending on the viscosity of the liquid material 22, the wetting properties of the spinning face 28, and the like, the object 10 and the spinning body 30 can be spun in directions where the planar region 24 and the spinning face 28 mutually move forward at a contact site therebetween, and the tangential velocity VI of the planar region 24 may be faster than the tangential velocity V2 of the spinning face 28. Further, the spinning speed of the object 10 in the transfer step may be sufficiently slower than the spinning speed of the object 10 in the spin coating process described above (FIGS. 1A to 1C).
[0029]
With the coat formation method according to the embodiment described above, in the step of causing the spinning face 28 of the spinning body 30 to contact a portion of the planar region 24 of the object 10 (FIG. IE) (hereinafter, referred to as the contact step), the object 10 and the spinning body 30 may be disposed so that an angle Θ formed by the planar region 24 and the spinning face 28 becomes, for example, not less than approximately 1° and not greater than approximately 3° (FIG. 4B illustrates an enlarged view of Θ for ease of illustration in the drawing). Setting the angle Θ to be within the above range allows the edge bead 26 to be reliably eliminated from the liquid coating 14. Furthermore, appropriately adjusting the angle Θ without limiting to the above range allows the flow rate (and accordingly, the degree that the edge bead 26 is eliminated) of the liquid material 22 that transfers from the planar region 24 to the spinning face 28 to be altered or adjusted at will.
[0030]
In the above contact step, it is possible to bend the object 10 by pushing the spinning face 28 of the spinning body 30 onto the planar region 24. Additionally, in the transfer step, with the object 10 bent, the object 10 and the spinning body 30 can be spun. According to this configuration, even if the object 10 has a noncircular profile, contact between the spinning face 28, while spinning, and a portion of the planar region 24 of the object 10, while spinning, can be essentially maintained without change in the relative positions of the object 10 and the spinning body 30, thereby enabling the edge bead 26 to be reliably eliminated from the liquid coating 14. For example, adopting a configuration in which the angle Θ described above is not less than approximately 1 ° and not greater than approximately 3° makes it easy to maintain contact between the spinning face 28 and the planar region 24 along the noncircular profile.
[0031]
FIG. 5 illustrates a coat formation device 40 according to an embodiment. The coat formation device 40 is a device that can implement the coat formation method according to the embodiment described above, and constituents that correspond to the constituents described with reference to FIG. 1 to FIG. 4 will have the same reference numerals and descriptions thereof will be omitted.
[0032]
The coat formation device 40 is a device that forms the liquid coating 14 on the face 12 of the object 10 that has the outer circumferential edge 18a, and the coat formation device 40 is provided with the object support part 20 that supports the object 10 where the liquid material 22 (FIG. 1) is disposed on the face 12, the spinning body 30 that spins around the rotational axis 30a by causing the spinning face 28 to contact a portion of the annular planar region 24 along the outer circumferential edge 18a of the object 10 supported on the object support part 20, the drive part 42 that spins the object support part 20 having the object 10 supported thereon around the center axis 12a of the face 12, and the removal part 32 that removes the liquid material 22 that has transferred from the planar region 24 of the object 10 to the spinning face 28 of the spinning body 30 from the spinning face 28 to a location away from the planar region 24.
[0033]
In the coat formation device 40 illustrated in the drawing, the object support part 20 has a support face 20a where the object 10 is fixed and supported by, for example, a vacuum (vacuum is comprehensively referred to in this specification as not only the existence of negative pressure lower than the atmospheric pressure, but also the existence of a reduced pressure lower than the air pressure around the object 10). The object support part 20 illustrated in the drawing has a configuration that supports only the center portion of the object 10 while the outer circumferential portion, including the planar region 24, is not supported. The spinning body 30 has a circular truncated cone shape, and the spinning face 28 has a circular truncated cone face. The drive part 42 may have, for example, an electric motor and can drive the object support part 20 at, at least, two differing rotational speeds including a rotational speed of the object 10 required by the spin coating process (FIG. 1 A to 1C) and a rotational speed of the object 10 required by the edge bead elimination process (FIG. IE to IF).
[0034]
The coat formation device 40 illustrated in the drawing is further provided with a second drive part 44 that spins the spinning body 30 around the rotational axis 30a. The second drive part 44 can spin the spinning body 30 around the rotational axis 30a in a direction where the planar region 24 of the object 10 and the spinning face 28 of the spinning body 30 mutually move in reverse (i.e. opposing) at a contact site therebetween. In this case, the second drive part 44 can spin the spinning body 30 around the rotational axis 30a so that a tangential velocity of not less than the tangential velocity of the planar region 24 is generated on the spinning face 28 at the contact site between the planar region 24 of the object 10 and the spinning face 28 of the spinning body 30. The second drive part 44 may have, for example, an electric motor.
[0035]
The coat formation device 40 illustrated in the drawing is further provided with an angle adjusting part 46 that adjusts the angle Θ formed between the planar region 24 and the spinning face 28 (FIG. 4B) at the time that the spinning face 28 of the spinning body 30 contacts the planar region 24 of the object 10. The angle adjusting part 46 may have a configuration that includes, for example, an electric motor as a drive source, or adjustment may be performed manually.
[0036]
The coat formation device 40 illustrated in the drawing is further provided with a movement mechanism 48 that moves the object support part 20 that supports the object 10 between the spin coating stage (illustrated by the dotted line) that performs the spin coating process (FIG. 1 A to 1C) and the edge bead elimination stage (indicated by the solid line) that performs the edge bead elimination process (FIG. IE to IF). The movement mechanism 48 illustrated in the drawing is configured to move the object support part 20 in a vertical direction between the spin coating stage at the lower stage and the edge bead elimination stage at the upper stage. In the spin coating stage, an annular shaped cup 50 that catches the excess liquid material 22' (FIG. 1C) to be released outward by the centrifugal force from the outer circumferential edge 18a of the object 10 is disposed so as to encompass the object support part 20. The cup 50 has an opening 52 in a shape that can catch the liquid material 22' without spilling. Further, the cup 50 can also catch the liquid material 22" (FIG. IF), via the opening 52, that falls due to gravity after being removed from the spinning face 28 of the spinning body 30 in the edge bead elimination stage. The liquid materials 22' and 22" caught in the cup 50 may be recovered by a recovery route not illustrated and reused. Further, in the edge bead elimination stage, the spinning body 30 is disposed in a predetermined position so that the spinning face 28 can contact the planar region 24 of the object 10 supported by the object support part 20.
[0037]
One example of the coat formation method implemented by the coat formation device 40 described above will be described with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 5. First, in the spin coating stage, the face 12 of the object 10 is disposed face up and substantially horizontal, and the object 10 is placed and fixed to the object support part 20 (FIG. 1A). In this state, the liquid material 22 is supplied onto the face 12 of the object 10 (FIG. IB), the drive part 42 spins the object support part 20 at high speed around the center axis 12a of the face 12 such that the liquid material 22 essentially spreads over the entirety of the face 12 by the centrifugal force (FIG. 1C), and the excess liquid material 22' (FIG. 1C) to be released outward from the outer circumferential edge 18a of the object 10 is caught in the cup 50.
[0038]
Next, the movement mechanism 48 moves the object support part 20 upward in a vertical direction and places it in the edge bead elimination stage. During this movement, the drive part 42 may stop the spinning of the object support part 20 (FIG. ID) or it may spin the object support part 20 at a low speed required by the edge bead elimination process. In either case, the edge bead 26 is formed on the liquid coating 14 caused by surface tension and the like in the annular planar region 24 of the object 10 (FIG. ID). When placing the object support part 20 in the edge bead elimination stage, a portion of the planar region 24 of the object 10 supported by the object support part 20 contacts the spinning face 28 of the spinning body 30 (FIG. IE). Note that in the edge bead elimination stage, prior to mutual contact between the planar region 24 of the object 10 and the spinning face 28 of the spinning body 30, the angle adjusting part 46 places the spinning body 30 in advance in a disposition so that the angle Θ formed when the planar region 24 and the spinning face 28 mutually contact (FIG. 4B) becomes, for example, not less than approximately 1° and not greater than approximately 3°.
[0039]
When the planar region 24 of the object 10 contacts the spinning face 28 of the spinning body 30, the second drive part 44 spins the spinning body 30 at a predetermined speed in a predetermined direction around the rotational axis 30a (FIG. IF). In the case when the drive part 42 has stopped the spinning of the object support part 20 while the movement mechanism 48 moves the object support part 20, the second drive part 44, after the planar region 24 of the object 10 has contacted the spinning face 28 of the spinning body 30, initiates spinning of the spinning body 30 while the drive part 42 re-initiates the spinning of the object support part 20 at the same time.
Further, in the case when the drive part 42 spins the object support part 20 at a low speed while the movement mechanism 48 moves the object support part 20, the second drive part 44 spins the spinning body 30 in advance before the planar region 24 of the object 10 contacts the spinning face 28 of the spinning body 30.
[0040]
Simultaneously spinning the object 10 and the spinning body 30 while the planar region 24 and the spinning face 28 are in mutual contact continuously pulls a portion of the liquid material 22 that makes up the edge bead 26 to the spinning face 28, and continuously transfers it from the planar region 24 to the spinning face 28 at a substantially constant flow (FIG. IF), and by this, the edge bead 26 gradually shrinks. The liquid material 22 that has transferred from the planar region 24 to the spinning face 28 is continuously removed from the spinning face 28, while spinning, by the removal part 32, such as a doctor blade or the like, that acts on the spinning face 28 in a position away from the planar region 24. The removed liquid material 22" (FIG. IF) falls from the spinning face 28 due to gravity and is caught in the cup 50. The edge bead 26 is eliminated from the liquid coating 14 by simultaneously spinning the object 10 and the spinning body 30 with the planar region 24 and the spinning face 28 in mutual contact continuously across the time for the object 10 to spin not less than one time.
[0041]
In the case that the object 10 is a wafer made of silicon, gallium arsenide, liquid crystal, sapphire, glass, or the like, as illustrated in FIG. 6, an orientation flat 54 (FIG. 6A) or a notch 56 (FIG. 6B) may be provided on the outer circumferential edge 18a of the object 10 to specify the crystal orientation of the wafer. In contrast to this type of object 10 having a noncircular profile, when the movement mechanism 48 moves the object 10 and the object support part 20 to the edge bead elimination stage in the coat formation device 40, the object support part 20 is placed in a position where the object 10 is bent by pressing the planar region 24 of the object 10 onto the spinning face 28 of the spinning body 30, as illustrated in FIG. 7. Alternatively, in the edge bead elimination stage, in contrast to the object 10 being placed in the same position as that in FIG. 5, the spinning body 30 may be moved by a different movement mechanism (not illustrated) than the movement mechanism 48 to a position where the spinning face 28 is pressed to the planar region 24 and the object 10 is bent.
According to these configurations, even when the object 10 is a wafer having an orientation flat 54 or a notch 56, essentially maintaining contact between the spinning face 28, while spinning, and a portion of the planar region 24 of the object 10, while spinning, can be achieved without changing the relative positions of the object 10 and the spinning body 30 to thereby be able to reliably eliminate the edge bead 26 from the liquid coating 14. Furthermore, the angle adjusting part 46 appropriately adjusts the angle Θ (FIG. 4B) formed between the planar region 24 and the spinning face 28 during mutual contact, so it is possible to adjust the extent to which the edge bead 26 is eliminated.
[0042]
Depending on the shape of the outer circumferential surface 18 of the object 10, the type of the liquid material 22, and the like, the edge bead 26, after the spin coating process, may be formed not only on the face 12 of the object 10 but on the outer circumferential surface 18. A state where a portion of the edge bead 26 juts out from the face 12 to the outer circumferential surface 18 is illustrated also for the object 10 that has the outer circumferential surface 18 with a cross-sectional arc shape of FIG. 1 (FIG. ID). The coat formation device 40 can eliminate the edge bead 26 formed spanning between the face 12 and the outer circumferential surface 18 even in the object 10 that has an outer circumferential surface 18 having a different shape than that of the outer circumferential surface 18 with a cross-sectional arc shape of FIG. 1 using a similar method to the coat formation method described with reference to FIG. 5.
[0043]
As illustrated in FIG. 9, for example, with a configuration where the outer circumferential surface 18 of the object 10 includes a face 18A orthogonal to the face 12 and a face 18B that obliquely intersects both the face 12 and the face 18 A, the edge bead 26 may be formed by jutting out from the face 12 to the face 18B. In this case, as illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9, the coat formation device 40 can adjust the disposition of the spinning body 30 so that, by the angle adjusting part 46, the spinning face 28 contacts the face 18B. In addition, while maintaining contact between the spinning face 28 and the face 18B, causing both the object 10 and the spinning body 30 to spin simultaneously, as described above, allows the edge bead 26 formed by jutting out from the face 12 to the face 18B to be eliminated.
[0044]
Note that, in the object 10 illustrated in FIG. 9, the face 18A configures the outer circumferential edge 18a and the face 18B configures a portion of the annular planar region 24 along the outer circumferential edge 18a. Furthermore, depending on the obliquely intersecting angle of the face 18B, a columnar shaped spinning body 30 (FIG. 2C) may be used instead of the circular truncated cone shaped spinning body 30 illustrated in FIG. 8 on condition that the removal part 32 can be placed in a position where the liquid material 22" (FIG. IF) continuously removed by the removal part 32 from the spinning face 28 of the spinning body 30 can be caught by the cup 50 without spilling.
[0045]
If the edge bead 26 is formed by jutting out to the face 18 A via the face 18B from the face
12 of the object 10, as illustrated in FIGS. 10 and 11, the coat formation device 40 can adjust the disposition of the spinning body 30, by the angle adjusting part 46, so that the spinning face 28 contacts the face 18 A. In addition, while maintaining contact between the spinning face 28 and the face 18A, causing both the object 10 and the spinning body 30 to spin simultaneously, as described above, allows the edge bead 26 formed by jutting out from the face 12 to the face 18A via the face
18B to be eliminated. After the edge bead 26 formed by jutting out to the face 18A is eliminated, the edge bead elimination process illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9 is further implemented to thereby eliminate the edge bead 26 that has formed by jutting out to the edge 18B.
[0046]
Note that, in the object 10 illustrated in FIG. 11, the face 18A configures both the outer circumferential edge 18a and a portion of the annular planar region 24 along the outer circumferential edge 18a. Further, in the configuration illustrated in FIG. 10, by using a columnar shaped spinning body 30, the removal part 32 is placed in a position where the liquid material 22" (FIG. IF) continuously removed from the spinning face 28 of the spinning body 30 is safely caught in the cup 50, but a circular truncated cone shaped or a conical shaped spinning body 30 (FIGS. 2A and 2B) may be used in place of the columnar shaped spinning body 30 illustrated in FIG. 10 on condition that the removal part 32 is placed in a similar position.
[0047]
The coat formation device 40 described above is provided with a second drive part 44 that spins the spinning body 30 at a predetermined speed and in a predetermined direction. However, not being limited to this configuration, a configuration may also be adopted, for example, in which the spinning body 30 is driven to spin following the object 10 by a friction force or the like while the spinning face 28 is in contact with the planar region 24 of the object 10. In this configuration, the spinning body 30 is driven to spin around the rotational axis 30a in a direction where the spinning face 28 and the planar region 24 of the object 10 mutually move forward at a contact site
therebetween and, so that, a tangential velocity equal to the tangential velocity of the planar region 24 at the contact site of the spinning face 28 and the planar region 24 is generated on the spinning face 28.
[0048]
FIG. 12 schematically illustrates the main steps for when the coat formation method described above is applied to a method for producing a semiconductor chip. In FIG. 12 and the following related descriptions, constituents that correspond to the constituents described with reference to FIG. 1 to FIG. 4 will have the same reference numerals and descriptions thereof will be omitted.
[0049]
In the method for producing a semiconductor chip illustrated in the drawing, the object 10 is a wafer (hereinafter, referred to as wafer 10) made of a base material of a semiconductor chip, and the face 12 is a circuit face (hereinafter, referred to as circuit face 12) where a required circuit pattern is formed, and the face 16 is a rear face (hereinafter, referred to as rear face 16) on the side opposite the circuit face 12. In this case, the circuit face 12 may have a variety of protrusions 13 due to the printed wiring and the like. Further, the liquid material 22 is a liquid adhesive (hereinafter, referred to as liquid adhesive 22) for bonding the wafer 10 to a film, glass, or other substrate 60.
[0050]
First, the wafer 10 having the circuit face 12 and the rear face 16 as well as having the outer circumferential surface 18 and the outer circumferential edge 18a, the substrate 60 having a face 60a greater than the circuit face 12 of the wafer 10, a frame member 62 having a shape and dimensions that can be disposed along an outer circumferential edge 60b of the substrate 60, and the liquid adhesive 22 are prepared.
[0051]
The liquid adhesive 22 is a liquid prior to curing or solidifying, and once cured or solidified, exhibits an adhesive strength which holds the substrate 60 firmly secured to the wafer 10. The liquid adhesive 22 may be, for example, an aqueous dispersion-type adhesive, thermoplastic resin containing a curable adhesive, a solvent based adhesive, or a hot melt-type adhesive, or the like.
Here, the curable adhesive is a liquid cured through irradiation with energy, such as heat, radiation (i.e. ultraviolet rays), or the like, or an adhesive for thermal bonding film that dissolves when heated; the solvent based adhesive is a liquid adhesive solidified through the evaporation of a solvent; and the hot melt-type adhesive is an adhesive that is melted through heating and solidified through cooling. Moreover, the aqueous dispersion-type adhesive is an adhesive where the adhesive component is dispersed in water and is solidified through the evaporation of the water. Examples of curable adhesives include one -component thermally curable adhesives based on epoxy or urethane; two-liquid mixed reaction adhesives based on epoxy, urethane, or acryl; and radiation (ultraviolet or electron- beam) curable adhesives based on acryl or epoxy. Moreover, examples of solvent based adhesives include rubber-based adhesives, wherein rubber, elastomers, or the like are dissolved in solvents. Note that, in this application, the term "solidify" is narrowly defined as to cure and to solidify.
[0052]
Next, the wafer 10 is placed on the object support part 20 with the circuit face 12 face up and disposed to be substantially horizontal (FIG. 12A), and the liquid adhesive 22 is disposed in a region including the center axis 12a of the circuit face 12 of the wafer 10 (FIG. 12B). In this state, spinning the wafer 10 around the center axis 12a spreads the liquid adhesive 22 over essentially the entirety of the circuit face 12 (FIG. 12C). The liquid adhesive 22 fills the gaps between the protrusions 13 formed on the circuit face 12 of the wafer 10, and the excess liquid adhesive 22' is released to the outside from the outer circumferential edge 18a of the wafer 10 by the centrifugal force. Note that, as given in the related description of the coat formation method of FIG. 1 , in this step of FIG. 12C, it is sufficient that the liquid adhesive 22 flow so as to cover at least the annular planar region 24 along the outer circumferential edge 18a of the wafer 10 due to the centrifugal force by spinning the wafer 10.
[0053]
After completion of the spin coating process described above, the edge bead elimination process (FIGS. IE and IF) described above is implemented on the wafer 10 placed on the object support part 20. Specifically, a step of preparing the spinning body 30 having the spinning face 28 (FIG. IE), a step of causing the spinning face 28 of the spinning body 30 to contact a portion of the planar region 24 of the wafer 10 (FIG. IE), a step of spinning the wafer 10 around the center axis 12a while at the same time spinning the spinning body 30 around its own rotational axis 30a to transfer a portion of the liquid adhesive 22 from the planar region 24 to the spinning face 28 (FIG. IF), and a step of removing the liquid adhesive 22 that has transferred to the spinning face 28, from the spinning face 28 to a location away from the planar region 24 (FIG. IF), are implemented. According to this edge bead elimination process, the edge bead 26 is eliminated from the liquid coating 14 formed by the liquid adhesive 22 on the circuit face 12 of the wafer 10.
[0054]
Separately from the edge bead elimination process described above, a frame member 62 is secured along the outer circumferential edge 60b of the substrate 60 by the same adhesive and the like as the liquid adhesive 22. Furthermore, the wafer 10 where a portion of the liquid adhesive 22 has transferred from the planar region 24 to the spinning face 28 is disposed on the substrate 60 in a position where the circuit face 12 and the face 60a oppose each other and a region along the outer circumferential edge 60b of the substrate 60 and the frame member 62 hang over the outer side of the wafer 10 such that the liquid adhesive 22 (i.e. the liquid coating 14) that remains on the circuit face 12 contacts the face 60a of the substrate 60 (FIG. 12D).
[0055]
Next, the liquid adhesive 22 is solidified by a method according to its composition (for example, ultraviolet radiation), and the wafer 10 is bonded to the substrate 60 by the solidified adhesive layer 64 (FIG. 12E). Next, the wafer 10 having the circuit case 12 side bonded to the substrate 60, is picked up from the object support part 20 together with the frame member 62, the top and bottom are inverted, and the rear face 16 of the wafer 10 is placed face up on a separate stationary stand or the like. Further, with the wafer 10, the substrate 60, and the frame member 62 held in a secured state using a holding means such as, for example, vacuum suction or the like, the entire rear face 16 of the wafer 10 undergoes grinding by a grinding device (not illustrated) to form a flat processed face 66 (FIG. 12F). By this, the rear face grinding process of the wafer 10 is complete.
[0056]
The processed face 66 of the wafer 10 on which the processed face 66 is formed on the side opposite the circuit face 12 by rear face grinding, undergoes dicing along the predetermined dicing lines 68, and the wafer 10 is divided into a plurality of chips 70 (FIG. 12G). The individually divided chips 70 are, for example, pushed up by a pin or the like not illustrated from the outer surface 60c of the substrate 60 and can be taken up one at a time from the substrate 60 by inducing peeling in the interface between the adhesive layer 64 and the surface of the chip 70.
[0057]
In the method for producing a semiconductor chip described above, after completing the spin coating process and prior to bonding the wafer 10 to the substrate 60, the edge bead elimination process is used to eliminate the edge bead 26 from the liquid coating 14 formed by the liquid adhesive 22 on the circuit face 12 of the wafer 10. Eliminating the edge bead 26 from the liquid coating 14 allows the amount of solidified adhesive layer 64 jutting outward along the outer circumferential edge 18a of the wafer 10 after the wafer 10 is bonded to the substrate 60 to be reduced. Once the jutting out amount of the adhesive layer 64 along the outer circumferential edge 18a of the wafer 10 is reduced, the subsequent rear face grinding process and dicing process can be implemented safely because the occurrence of peeling in the adhesive layer 64 originating in this type of jutting out portion is prevented.
[0058]
As a working example, the coat formation device 40 described above was used to conduct the edge bead elimination process described above after forming the liquid coating 14 of the liquid adhesive 22 on the circuit face 12 of the wafer 10 made of silicon and having a diameter of 200 mm using the spin coating process (FIGS. 12A to 12C). As a liquid adhesive 22, an acrylic-based ultraviolet-curable adhesive LC-3200 attainable from Sumitomo 3M Limited was used. For the spin coating process, the object support part 20 supporting the wafer 10 was spun by the drive part 42 at a rotation speed of approximately 1000 rpm. For the edge bead elimination process, the object support part 20 supporting the wafer 10 was spun by the drive part 42 at a rotation speed of approximately 60 rpm. At the same time, the spinning body 30 with the spinning face 28 in contact with a portion of the planar region 24 the wafer 10, was spun by the second drive part 44 at approximately 800 rpm. The second drive part 44 spun the spinning body 30 in a direction where the planar region 24 of the wafer 10 and the spinning face 28 of the spinning body 30 mutually move in reverse at a contact site therebetween. At this time, at the mutual contact site between the planar region 24 of the wafer 10 and the spinning face 28 of the spinning body 30, the tangential velocity of the planar region 24 was 628 mm/second and the tangential velocity of the spinning face 28 was 837 mm/second. Further, the angle Θ (FIG. 4B) formed between the planar region 24 and the spinning face 28 at the time that the spinning face 28 of the spinning body 30 contacts the planar region 24 of the wafer 10 was set by the angle adjusting part 46 to be approximately 1°. After the edge bead elimination process was performed under the above conditions, the amount of solidified adhesive layer 64 jutting outward along the outer circumferential edge 18a of the wafer 10 after the wafer 10 was bonded to the substrate 60 by the liquid adhesive 22 (i.e. the liquid coating 14) that remains on the circuit face 12, was essentially zero (state of FIG. 12F).
[0059]
The coat formation method and the coat formation device 40 described above can also apply to bonding the circular object 10 instead of the wafer 10 to other members using the liquid adhesive 22 to eliminate the edge bead 26 from the liquid coating 14 formed on the face 12 of the object 10 by the spin coating process. Note that, when forming the liquid coating 14 made of the liquid adhesive 22 onto the face 12 of the object 10 such as a wafer, a small amount of liquid adhesive 22 may remain on the outer circumferential surface 18 without completely eliminating the edge bead 26 for the purpose of, for example, protecting the outer circumferential surface 18 of the object 10. According to the coat formation method and the coat formation device 40 described above, appropriately adjusting the angle Θ (FIG. 4B) formed between the planar region 24 of the object 10 and the spinning face 28 of the spinning body 30 at the time of mutual contact allows the flow rate (accordingly, the extent that the edge bead 26 is eliminated) of the liquid material 22 that transfers from the planar region 24 to the spinning face 28 to be adjusted at will, and thus the liquid adhesive 22 can be caused to remain on the outer circumferential surface 18.
[0060]
Moreover, the coat formation method and the coat formation device 40 described above may also eliminate the edge bead 26 from the liquid coating 14 made of a photoresist after a photoresist has been applied, using the spin coating process, to the face 12 of the object 10, when forming circuits on a predetermined face of the wafer 10 (i.e. when forming the circuit face 12). If the photoresist has an edge bead 26 immediately after application, peeling the dried photoresist from the portion that corresponds to the edge bead 26 may become easier, and the generation of this type of peeling can also be prevented when using the coat formation method and the coat formation device 40 described above. Applying the coat formation method and the coat formation device 40 described above also in a configuration that eliminates the edge bead 26 from the liquid coating 14 of a photoresist formed on the face 12 of the object 10 allows appropriate adjustment of the angle Θ (FIG. 4B) formed between the planar region 24 of the object 10 and the spinning face 28 of the spinning body 30 at the time of mutual contact such that the photoresist can be caused to remain on the outer circumferential surface 18 of the object 10.
[0061]
Furthermore, the coat formation method and the coat formation device 40 described above can eliminate the edge bead 26 from the liquid coating 14 made of coating fluids when various coating fluids (liquid material 22) are applied on the face 12 of various objects 10 where, for example, a lubricant is applied to a face of a magnetic disk or the like, after the coating fluid is supplied by the spin coating process to the face 12 of the object 10. If the coating fluid has an edge bead 26 immediately after application, peeling the dried coating fluid from the portion that corresponds to the edge bead 26 may become easier, and the generation of this type of peeling can also be prevented when using the coat formation method and the coat formation device 40 described above. Applying the coat formation method and the coat formation device 40 described above also in a configuration that eliminates the edge bead 26 from the liquid coating 14 of a coating fluid formed on the face 12 of the object 10 allows appropriate adjustment of the angle Θ (FIG. 4B) formed between the planar region 24 of the object 10 and the spinning face 28 of the spinning body 30 at the time of mutual contact such that the coating fluid can be caused to remain on the outer circumferential surface 18 of the object 10.

Claims

What is Claimed is:
1. A coat formation method that forms a liquid coating on a face of an object having an outer circumferential edge, comprising the steps of:
spinning the object around a center axis of the face, supplying a liquid material onto the face, and causing the liquid material to flow so as to cover at least an annular planar region along the outer circumferential edge of the object;
preparing a spinning body having a spinning face;
causing the spinning face of the spinning body to contact a portion of the planar region of the object;
spinning the object around the center axis while simultaneously spinning the spinning body around a rotational axis of the spinning body and causing a portion of the liquid material to transfer from the planar region to the spinning face; and
removing the liquid material that transferred to the spinning face from the spinning face to a location away from the planar region.
2. The coat formation method according to claim 1 , wherein the transfer step includes a step of spinning the object around the center axis at the same time that the spinning body spins around the rotational axis in a direction where the planar region of the object and the spinning face of the spinning body mutually move in reverse at a contact site therebetween.
3. The coat formation method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the transfer step includes a step of generating a tangential velocity of not less than a tangential velocity of the planar region on the spinning face at a contact site of the planar region of the object and the spinning face of the spinning body.
4. The coat formation method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the contact step includes a step of bending the object by pressing the spinning face of the spinning body onto the planar region, and the transfer step includes a step of spinning the object and the spinning body while the object is being bent.
5. The coat formation method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the spinning face is a conical face or a circular truncated cone face.
6. The coat formation method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the planar region is a region of up to 20 mm to the inner side from the outer circumferential edge of the object.
7. A coat formation device that forms a liquid coating on a face of an object having an outer circumferential edge, comprising:
an object support part that supports the object having liquid material disposed on the face; a spinning body of the object supported by the object support part that spins around a rotational axis by causing a spinning face to contact a portion of an annular planar region along the outer circumferential edge;
a drive part that spins the object support part supporting the object around a center axis of the face; and
a removal part that removes the liquid material that transferred from the planar region of the object to the spinning face of the spinning body from the spinning face to a location away from the planar region.
8. The coat formation device according to claim 7, further comprising a second drive part that spins the spinning body around the rotational axis in a direction where the planar region of the object and the spinning face of the spinning body mutually move in reverse at a contact site therebetween.
9. The coat formation device according to claim 8, wherein the second drive part spins the spinning body around the rotational axis to generate a tangential velocity of not less than a tangential velocity of the planar region on the spinning face at a contact site of the planar region of the object and the spinning face of the spinning body.
10. The coat formation device according to any one of claims 7 to 9, further comprising an angle adjusting part that adjusts an angle formed between the planar region and the spinning face when the spinning face of the spinning body contacts the planar region of the object.
11. The coat formation device according to any one of claims 7 to 10, wherein the spinning face is a conical face or a circular truncated cone face.
12. A method for producing a semiconductor chip, comprising the steps of:
spinning a wafer having a circuit face and an outer circumferential edge around a center axis of the circuit face, supplying a liquid adhesive to the circuit face, and causing the liquid adhesive to flow so as to cover at least an annular planar region along the outer circumferential edge of the wafer;
preparing a spinning body having a spinning face;
causing the spinning face of the spinning body to contact a portion of the planar region of the wafer;
spinning the wafer around the center axis while simultaneously spinning the spinning body around a rotational axis of the spinning body and causing a portion of the liquid adhesive to transfer from the planar region to the spinning face; removing the liquid adhesive that transferred to the spinning face from the spinning face to a location away from the planar region;
bonding the wafer, in which a portion of the liquid adhesive from the planar region has transferred to the spinning face, to a substrate via the liquid adhesive that remains on the circuit face; and
grinding a rear face of an opposite side of the circuit face, of the wafer bonded to the substrate.
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